New York Peace Society
Encyclopedia
The New York Peace Society was the first peace society
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...

 to be established in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It has had several different incarnations, as it has merged into other organizations or dissolved and then been re-created.

First incarnation (1815-1828)

David Low Dodge
David Low Dodge
David Low Dodge helped to establish the New York Peace Society and was a founder of the New York Bible Society and the New York Tract Society.- Biography :...

 founded the society in 1815, soon after the end of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. It became an active organization, holding regular weekly meetings, and producing literature which was spread as far as Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, describing the horrors of war and advocating pacificism on Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 grounds.

In 1828, the society merged with others in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 to form the American Peace Society
American Peace Society
The American Peace Society is a pacifist group founded upon the initiative of William Ladd, in New York City, May 8, 1828. It was formed by the merging of many state and local societies, from New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, of which the oldest, the New York Peace Society, dated...

.

Second and third incarnations (1837-1844)

The society was re-formed as an independent organization in 1837. Until 1844, it sought to prevent war against Mexico by advocating negotiation. It then dissolved. An attempt was made to re-create it, but this was short-lived.

Fourth incarnation (1906-1940)

The society was founded anew for the final time in 1906, in the context of the Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War
The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...

, the rapid expansion of American influence and military usage abroad and the rise of the Anti-Imperialist League. It was organized by Oscar Strauss
Oscar Straus (politician)
Oscar Solomon Straus was United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. Straus was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary. - Biography :...

 and Charles Levermore with the support of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

.

The society was involved in a "National Arbitration and Peace Conference" in 1907. During the First World War, the society helped to organize the League to Enforce Peace
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

 in opposition to American involvement.

In 1940, the society merged into the Quaker World Alliance for International Friendship through Religion.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK